Preseason Power Rankings No. 25: Houston Texans

The Texans were so close to a good run. They had climbed steadily, going from bad to OK to good.

But they were never able to get past playoff tease, and when the bottom fell out last season, it was time for wholesale changes.

Gone were coach Gary Kubiak and quarterback Matt Schaub, who was offered up midway through a dismal year and was sentenced to Oakland this offseason.

In comes Bill O’Brien, and armed with the first pick in the NFL Draft, he had a chance to take the kind of quarterback he could mold and build around.

Instead, he made the strength of his new team stronger, and surprised many people by not taking a quarterback until Tom Savage in the fourth round. (It was such a shocker that longtime Houston Chronicle NFL writer John McClain had to eat a copy of the sports page to pay off a bet that they’d take a passer first).

Whether O’Brien made the right call will be determined down the road. But for now, he has a a flawed half of a roster and no clear way to improve it until next year’s draft.

At that point, McClain is probably safe to make the same bet.

Strengths.

By using the first choice on South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, the Texans added to a defense that already had plenty of star power.

Clowney will have to learn to stand up and play outside linebacker after having his hand in the dirt for three years in college. But once he’s returned from his sports hernia surgery, the transition shouldn’t be that difficult for him.

What he did in a 4-3 he can do in a 3-4 — rush the passer.

With his kind of talent paired with defensive end J.J. Watt, the Texans have an opportunity to have an incredible defense.

And all Watt is is perhaps the best all-around player in the NFL.

Bringing in Clowney also allowed them to experiment with linebacker Brooks Reed, moving him inside next to Brian Cushing, further strengthening the defense.

They also added some heft in the second round, drafting Notre Dame nose tackle Louis Nix to replace Earl Mitchell.

That gives new coordinator Romeo Crennel lots of quality pieces to work with, and he’ll need to do some of his best work to keep this team competitive.

Weaknesses.

How are they going to score any points?

Being the best option in Texans camp right now is faint praise, but that’s what they’ve laid on Ryan Fitzpatrick by naming him the starter going into camp.

It’s not even recently clear that Fitzpatrick is a good backup in the NFL, but he’s the best they’ve got for the moment.

But it’s hard to know who he’s going to throw it to right now.

Star wide receiver Andre Johnson is disgruntled, and openly questioned the direction of the team this offseason. He has a point, and at 32 years old, he’s burning one of the last years of his prime with a guy who can’t take full advantage of his talents.

Now, it’s unclear if he’ll continue to stay away and pile up fines during training camp since he wants a trade, but then if he comes back, you have the issue of a guy who hasn’t bought fully into the program playing a central role.

Second-year wideout DeAndre Hopkins is the future here, and if Johnson comes back and plays along, they’d have a good pair of targets.

Assuming, of course, they had a viable quarterback.

Which they don’t.

Changes.

Other than a new coach and a new quarterback, there was plenty of other turnover.

They shuffled off some older players, and lost a lot of key depth.

Perhaps no player will be missed like running back Ben Tate, who took the opportunity and the cash in Cleveland.

Arian Foster is back and healthy, but Tate always got plenty of work, and played well when called upon.

The Texans also parted ways with tight end Owen Daniels (who followed Kubiak to Baltimore), putting the position in the hands of Garrett Graham and third-rounder C.J. Fiedorowicz.

The defensive line got a fresh look, with veterans Mitchell and Antonio Smith making way for younger guys, which will be a theme there for some time.

Camp Battles.

The Texans have a premier left tackle in Duane Brown, but the other side of their offensive line is in flux.

Right guard Brandon Brooks and right tackle Derek Newton are going to have to fight for jobs, which they should after a relatively porous performance a year ago.

Second-round guard Xavier Su’a-Filo will eventually take over a job on one side, and will make them more physical in the process.

The Texans will also be looking for more depth at wide receiver among a group of young players, as they can’t know how long they can’t count on Johnson.

Prospects.

The Texans will be good enough on defense to compete with most teams in the NFL.

But they might need to win a lot of 6-3 games, and that’s a lot to ask from any group.

Barring Ryan Fitzpatrick pulling a Kurt Warner-like transformation, it’s going to be hard for them to do much with the ball but run, and that will get tougher with time.

If they can shut teams out and create turnovers, they’re going to have chances, but their margin for error is non-existent.

O’Brien comes to the job well-respected after his work at Penn State.

And though the track record of former New England assistants isn’t great, his work with Tom Brady bought him a chance at this kind of job.

The easy choice for him would have found a quarterback and built around it.

Now, he has to accept that answer’s a year or more away. It won’t reflect well on his record, but he lives in a division in which he can compete, and perhaps build enough of a base that next year’s additions can make more of a difference.

I love how all the Browns haters don’t have any clue as to what the roster looks like. Their defense was pretty good last year and only got better. Their offensive line is improved as is the running game. The only real group that got worse this year is the receiving corps. Gordon will be a substantial loss but the rest of the team still got better. Also, the haters also wrongly assume Manziel will be the starts and doesn’t care about football. Hoyer will start and is a leader. Stop hating.

That is the worst part for Texans fans. In order to get a top quality quarterback in next years draft (someone who can start right away), they’ll need to have at the least a top 6 draft spot, probably a top 3 spot.

And so, I’m fully expecting a very bad record from these Texans. Even if they play excellent defense.

Defense wins championships, but your offense still needs to capitalize on opportunities given to it by your defense.

More complaints because the Browns are ranked higher? love it! 1 team moves from basement to crown in their division in each season since 2003. This year only 2 teams have that chance, Redskins and Browns.

Probably the worst Pre-Season Power Ranking of all time. First the Bucs at 26, now the Texans at 25? I can see the Texans at 25, but there are still teams that will be worse than both the Texans and the Bucs. Leading the charge are the Browns. The Bucs are better than the Falcons, Giants, Jets, Bills, Dolphins, Raiders, Texans, Titans, Jaguars, and Lions. We know this. The Bucs are par with Rams, Cardinals, Cowboys, Panthers, Bears, Redskins….easily. Bottom line is post-draft, post free agency the Bucs should come out about 15-18. That’s okay…just like in 2010, they will climb 5 spots in pre-season and another 12 during the first month. Raymond James will bleed Red and Pewter in 2014.

This list lost all credibility since it started, who are the people making these rankings and who are tasked to do the write ups. When these questions are answered and depending who they are will make an informed decision contrary to what we have read on these “rankings”.

I’m a Browns fan but as a realistic one, I have long given up on any real optimism. That being said, everyone should be clear that this is a qb driven league not a wr driven one. The season all depends on the play at that position whether it be Hoyer or Johnny.

Otherwise I’ll put the rest of this roster up against most teams around the league. Defense could be nasty. Offensive line is strong. RB position is strong. One of the best TE in the league. Yes, WR position is hurting a bit but that’s the only weakness outside of the question mark at qb.

If these “power rankings” meant anything, they wouldn’t have to update them every week. Some bad teams last year will be good, some good teams last year will be bad. And it will come down to the last weeks before the playoffs in most divisions before we know which teams will advance. Such is the NFL every year and it’s why we love it.

He could be setting up for maybe 4-12 season for the texans with no real offense (gonna lose Andre give him to the packers, panthers or chargers for a second) but with mariota , Winston and all the other QBs who will develop there will be many of options to improve it next year with maybe a top 5-10 defense already built for him could be the best thing for the texans future.